


A Girl Could Fall For You, Bucky Barnes.

by OhhMyy



Series: Coming Back To Life. [13]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Dancing, F/M, Flirting, Gropey Guys in Bars, Mild Language, Past Abuse, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-16
Updated: 2016-11-16
Packaged: 2018-08-31 09:14:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8572702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OhhMyy/pseuds/OhhMyy
Summary: A brief respite among the group of heroes. A party, some dancing, a dash of flirting.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Brief mentions of past abuse, nothing graphic.

She walks into the party with Natasha at her side, gazing around the crowded room to find the group. Her eyes lock with Steve’s who waves them over, grin on his face. They make their way past the bustle of people, pinkie fingers linked together in an effort to withstand the crowd. Ever the gentleman Steve stands to greet them, giving each woman a kiss on the cheek, Charlie resists the urge to giggle as Steve's day old stubble tickles her chin.

Bucky stands behind his friend, eyes roaming slowly over the brunette in front of him. He places a brief kiss on Natasha’s cheek before moving to Charlie and doing the same, hand on her waist as he leans in and she’ll be damned if that whole area doesn’t light on fire, tingling under his touch. He lingers and the smell of cinnamon she has come to associate with him fills her senses.

“You look amazing, Doll” He breathes against her cheek before pulling his lips and hand away, admiring the cut of her emerald green dress; it cuts a deep v at her neckline, clinging over her bust and waist and flaring slightly into a handkerchief trim; she's lacking her usual amount of jewelry and he takes a moment to appreciate the newly uncovered areas of skin . Her hair is curled and half of it clipped back. She admires him, in his fitted black trousers ( _thighs, holy shit the thighs_ chants her brain as she sinks her teeth into the inside of her lips gently) and the jacket she had picked out for him, clean shaven and hair pushed back away from his eyes, before shooting him a smirk.

“Not too bad yourself Barnes” She states loudly over the music and glances around for the rest of her friends. She spots Tony at the bar chatting up the bartender; she briefly wonders if Tony owns this particular establishment and is thus risking a harassment lawsuit but his game’s been off since Pepper left and she doubts he’ll get anywhere. She turns to see Clint dancing with Maria in the center of the floor and she whistles loudly; waving casually when they look over.

“Do you want to dance?” Bucky asks, bringing his hand around to rest on the middle of her back. She shoots a questioning look at Natasha who waves her on, smirking at her teasingly and turning to continue talking to Steve, velvet red dress twirling around her knees as she spins in the blonde super soldiers direction.

Bucky keeps a hand on her back, lowering it slightly, to lead her to the dance floor, stopping close to Clint and Maria, laughing loudly when he sees her usual dance partner dip the seemingly uptight woman slightly too far down. Charlie has spoken to Hill a few times since her arrival, knows that she’s been a constant support to Clint since Coulson’s death and despite her hard outer shell knows her to be an amazing friend and, from what she’s heard, a completely badass agent. She smiles fondly as Maria grips Clint’s arm to keep herself from falling and makes a mental note to make better friends with the woman.

She feels fire on her skin as Bucky’s hand moves closer to her hip as the metal one comes to clasp hers, she smiles gently as she always does when he uses the cold steel digits; comforting and full of encouragement; eyes full of complete trust even as her pupils widen in response to his touch. The music is steady and she thanks her lucky stars it’s not a slow dance, her palms are sweating enough as it is.

“Now, I know you can dance real good so you’re gonna have to bear with me” She blushes but moves her leg out towards his to rock them back and forth with the beat before he brings her closer, hips mere inches apart. She’s smiling wide and he returns it without hesitation; face lighting up as his eyes crinkle at the edges. He feels her muscles move under his flesh fingertips as her hips sway, tensing and releasing in time with the beat and the gentle press of his hand. They move to the rhythm, it’s not perfect but he doesn’t step on her toes or lose the beat, she doesn't need Clint to lift her into impossible positions to enjoy this dance. His fingers press firmly against her hip, thumb stroking gently and instinctively in time with the music as she shuts her eyes with a smile on her face, losing herself in the feeling of him close, wrapped in music and moving in sync. Neither of them leads and if she’s honest they’re not so much dancing as rocking together but she briefly wonders how much of her soul she’d have to sell to stay in the moment forever.

When she opens her eyes again he’s grinning like a Cheshire cat and his eyes are twinkling. She notices Clint out of the corner of her eye giving her thumbs up and she turns her head gently to pull a face at him; tongue out and eyes scrunched. Maria laughs as he feigns offense and she sees them make their way back to the table which is now occupied by everyone but Thor, Wanda and Vision. Wanda finds parties too loud to think clearly and Vision...well Vision goes where Wanda goes.

“Bruce is here” She whispers to Bucky, glancing at his lips briefly before flicking her gaze up to his eyes, pleased that their friend agreed to join them after much cajoling but aware he won’t stay for long; most of them dislike crowds, venturing out to venues like this only so often but Bruce is acutely aware that his attendance puts people at risk rather than just making him uncomfortable. Bucky slows his movements as the song comes to an end, bringing her closer under the pretense of speaking, his hips clash gently against hers and she fights the urge to roll her pelvis inwards towards him as he leans in slowly to speak into her ear.

“We should head back to the table” She nods in response, having temporarily lost the use of her mouth and lets him guide her back to the table; greeting Maria and Clint with proper hugs before sitting next to Bruce; leaning in to offer a welcome.

“I’m glad you came Bruce, you look great” She’s not lying, his usual baggy button down has been replaced with a dark blue dress shirt and he’s swapped loose trousers for a pair of black jeans. She resists the urge to wiggle a hand in his unkempt hair as she has done previously in an attempt to calm in. He turns to flash her a shy smile, returning the compliment.

“I’m not sure how long I’ll stay” he says into her ear, still leaning in to avoid the din of the heavy music that’s started and the chatter from the table; she can see Bucky watching them from across the table as they lean in close to each other and she catches his eye with a shy smirk. She knows Bruce doesn’t want to be here, even if he’s enjoying himself at the moment but she half wonders if he’s saying that to offer her an out, most of the group aware of the gym incident with Bucky. She loves Tony, but she sometimes feels like Bruce is the big brother she never had, seems to know more about the world, and her, than he lets on.

“No pressure, I’ll probably head off when you do, walk with you if you don’t mind?” Half of her needs a get out (not that she wishes to leave) and the other half knows that she'd leave anywhere in a heartbeat if one of them needing her to.

“And waste that beautiful dress on a grumpy old scientist?” He’s teasing, humour in his voice and she always forgets how much she misses this side of Bruce when he holes himself up in the lab, thinking it’s better to avoid people than to let them help; he’s more out of his shell now than she’s ever known him to be but it takes some digging for him to remember his fun side.

“Less of the old, Grumpy. You’re always worth wasting time with; the dress would be welcome collateral” She squeezes her hand on his knee before standing and asking the table if they want drinks. Clint asks for his usual beer and Steve joins Maria in ordering a cosmopolitan (much like language, she gets the feeling he might not live that down) and Tony gets a few raised eyebrows after asking for a Diet Coke, Bucky watches closely as Charlie shoots him a thankful nod and a small smile. Nat accompanies her to the bar to help carry and turns to talk to the bartender as Charlie leans on the counter as she waits.

“Hey pretty lady, fancy a dance?” She whirls around to find a semi-drunk and more than semi balding guy to her right. He’s peering down at her cleavage and she backs away a few inches on instinct. Before Andrew she’d gotten used to drunken men in bars in the same way all women have but she’s taken aback at just how much the attention frightens her now. She can feel her hands shaking even as she steels her face into a neutral expression.

“No thank you”  She manages, polite and perfunctory shooting him a small smile she hopes indicates no hard feelings.

“Aw, come on love, bet you’re well up for it” He grabs his hand around her upper arm tightly and she feels her lungs constrict. She pushes at his fingers with her other hand, prising them off and stepping away but he quickly strides into her personal space. Just as he leans into her and she feels his hands on her waist the man is pulled backwards, she sees Natasha holding him in an arm lock before she throws him to the ground without so much as moving a hair out of place; crinkle at the waist of her dress the only indicator she has even moved.

“LEAVE” she commands, voice loud and firm and the music halts. Charlie blinks the haze from her eyes and finds her entire group standing behind Natasha; staring the asshole down and, she thinks with amusement, looking like the best dressed superheroes anyone’s ever seen (no sign of underwear over tights here). It shouldn’t amaze her that their reflexes are so sharp, that they move so fast and so in sync after all this time but it does. The man scrambles to his feet and bolts towards the door without so much as glancing at her.

“You okay, _Lev_?” Natasha asks voice gentle as she steps closer.

“Yeah, thanks Nat” Natasha simply nods in return; knowing from experience that there will always be touchy drunk men in the world and grabs her hand, pulling the gaggle back to their table. Tony signals to the barman to bring their drinks over, hip checking her in reassurance before taking his seat. The awkward silence starts to piss her off.

“Guys, I’m fine, he’s just a drunk Dick in a bar. Can we please enjoy the rest of our evening?” Chatter slowly starts back up but she knows they’re all sending worried glances her way, meets Bucky’s eyes a few times and Clint’s, makes an obnoxious point of raising an eyebrow in challenge; she’s sure that makes her a bit of a bitch but she doesn’t want pity, doesn’t need it but nobody seems to understand that she really is okay. Steve leans in to her, hand hovering but never touching her back, ever the gentleman.

“Are you alright?”

“I am not made of glass Captain” It comes out with much more bite than she intends but she picks up her drink that’s freshly delivered and downs it in one; effectively shutting up the conversation. It takes her less than a minute to move her hand to his bicep, squeezing in apology.

She dances with Clint and Tony, drinks a few more glasses of whiskey and is amazed that Bruce is still there when they decide to head back home. Tony insists on taking his limo back (because Tony Stark does not walk in New York, he drives or flies, no exceptions), Natasha, Bruce and Clint joining. Maria takes a cab back to her apartment and Steve offers to see her home safely. She briefly wishes Wanda was there; almost certain the dear Captain has a crush on Hill and she’s desperate to know for sure. She mentions she wants to walk and Bucky offers to accompany her, the others waving goodbye out of half open tinted windows; Clint, having had too much to drink, gives a long and very finalised goodbye as if wholly unaware it’s only a fifteen minute walk back to the tower.

Bucky offers her his jacket as they walk but she shrugs off his offer and carries on.

“The last time you walked back without a jacket you were sick and miserable for a week” He berates. She thinks back fondly to that experience, she was indeed sick and miserable but she’d be lying if she said she hadn’t enjoyed having his almost undivided attention for the week and her being ill meant he was more openly affectionate than usual; overcompensating for her usual tactile nature being replaced by whinging, coughing and general laziness.

“It was five miles in a storm, this is lovely and refreshing!” The air is crisp and there’s a gentle breeze against her bare skin. She puts her arms out wide and spins in a circle slowly as if to prove just how refreshing the weather is. He admires her from a few feet away, bits of her hair are falling loose around her face, her cheeks are slightly red and, not wanting to bring down the tone, he can tell she’s not wearing any form of bra; dress clinging to her figure as the hem flicks out around her.

He smiles until he notices a dark blue mark on her upper arm, striding forward and stopping in front of her, she pulls her arms back down to her sides and he reaches his hand out, warm fingertips meeting the slightly chilly and raised skin on her arm. She winces, frowning as she looks down at her own arm and sees the previously unnoticed mark.

“Oh, that’s a beauty” She huffs, casual sarcasm, grimacing only as he presses the skin around the bruise. His eyes flick up to hers fast, freezing on them as his fingers stop their movement, hand settled delicately just below the darkening mark.

“That’s not funny” His eyebrows crinkle in confusion, terse but simmering anger marking his face and for a second she can't tell if it's aimed at her, baldy, Andrew or the world.

“I’ve had worse” She means it to be reassuring but knows it’s not as his face darkens and he moves beside her to stark walking again without responding, placing his hand on her lower back with more pressure than usual, spacing his fingers out to cover more skin, reassurance for himself that she’s in one piece and a valiant attempt to keep her warm without proffering his jacket again.

“Bucky” They walk in tandem but he turns his head “I am okay you know” He nods but he knows there are some scars that can never be fixed, has seen the way she shies away from certain touches, still winces in the memory of pain when a hand lands in the wrong place and now that’s it’s common knowledge both Tony and Natasha have been more open with the facts, rarely discussing with him but he’s overheard more than he ever wanted to imagine happening to her.

He knows without visual confirmation there’s a belt scar running on one hip and more than one circular cigarette burn mark on the flesh covering her ribs. Learnt, from her, after one games night and Thor having heard about ‘7 Minutes In Heaven’ that she is scared of confined spaces; refusing point blank to be a part of the game (she was not, in actual fact, the only one against the game so it was quickly replaced by Twister). She’s told him that it’s likely Andrew knows where she is and despite living in one of the most secure buildings in the world with friends that include Iron Man and The Hulk she still worries he’ll try and get to her.

“Bucky, stop thinking” She glances up to his face as his expression steels itself ahead of them, can almost hear the cogs turning despite the fact he's not looking at her.

“Sorry Doll”

“I. Am. Okay” Her arm comes around his waist under the jacket, pulls him closer as the Tower entrance comes into their field of vision. His thumb rubs circles on her back, fabric of the dress catching slightly with every upwards stroke and her fingers rest on the side of him, just reaching the side of his stomach as she pulls in tight against his side; if questioned she knows she will blame the cold.

“Is this where you kiss me goodnight Doll?” He jokes as they reach the foyer, flashing her a smug grin that’s quickly wiped from his face when she drops her arm from around him, turns to face him and quickly leans in; pecking a small kiss to the side of his mouth as he freezes; purposefully missing his lips.

She's not sure if it's the part atmosphere, the alcohol in her system or the fact she can still feel his touch on her body that gives her confidence. She knows in the morning she will wake with a pain in her chest that despite the evening, despite their flirting that he is not interested, she will feel like she made a mistake in being so forward. He will wake with the same.

“A girl could fall for you, you know Barnes” She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and jokingly bats her eyelashes at him to hide the nervousness that's suddenly overcome her whole body, peeping out at him from under hooded lids. She bumps his hip with her own before wandering ahead of him and out of sight, hoping her chuckle doesn't sound as false to him as it suddenly does to her.


End file.
